Tools ‘N’ Techniques
Five Top Guns of Stone Share Their Secrets
Peter J. Marcucci
Special Contributor
Tools ‘n’ Techniques is a compilation of skills and wisdom by craftsmen who get their hands dirty, be it with hammer and chisel, CNC or saw, on a workbench, or in the field. All are experts, all care about our industry, and all are very cool people for sharing their secrets.
Christian Carlson, a CNC programmer, has produced millions of dollars of machine work since the mid 90s, and legend Len Malave known for his state-of-the-art slab layout and cutting techniques, has been fabricating stone for decades. Artist Andreas von Huene holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, an M.S. in engineering from Stanford University and is one of America’s finest sculptors. James S., an anonymous templater/installer as well as fabricator, and Thomas Rosiennik, formerly a technician with Promec (a stone processing equipment manufacturer from Poland), round out the list of contributors.
Christian J. Carlson: CNC Programmer and Operator First Coast Granite and Marble, Jacksonville, Florida
Technique: I have both techniques and tricks. First, have a complete understanding of how a CNC operates. It helps alleviate fear of the unknown. Also, don’t be afraid to mess a few things up. Countertops can move and break and tools that aren’t in top condition can add to the frustration.
Another thing. Be patient. I can’t stress this enough. Being tempted to push the machine faster than the tool, machine, or material will allow, usually ends with a poor result. I estimate that I have approximately 30,000 hours of experience on CNC machines (primarily Intermac) and I have learned patience. It definitely helps—a lot.
I have seen just about everything that can be seen when it comes to machines and I think what has helped me more than patience and complete understanding of the machine is mathematics– Trigonometry, to be exact.
Knowing how to find angles the old-fashioned way is a must, in my opinion. I use it every day and it has never failed me. I urge everyone to take a class, or go to the library and get a book on it. It’s an exact science that works well with what we do.
Tools: Well, what can I say about tools? I’ve used many different tools over the years, though one has been used over the years with regularity: my micrometer.
The operation of a CNC machine is precise, or at least should be. Accuracy is key in many aspects of our process but none more important than a precise tools setup. I’ve learned a lot over the years but I am most proud of my tool setups.
Not only does production speed go up, you also extend the life of your very expensive tooling. I say that anything worth measuring is worth measuring accurately. I’ve worked with people who thought that just bumping it in five millimeters was precise. Guess what? It’s not! Tools will run okay at first, but then rapidly decline in performance.
So, to recap, fellow CNC operators—if you don’t have an accurate micrometer— get one and pay attention to what tool wear and accurate setups can do for you and the company you work for.
Len Malave: Owner/Fabricator
Granite and Marble by Malave
Greensboro, North Carolina
Technique: The heart and soul of any shop is the saw. It is the most important tool in the shop. If the saw cuts out a square or doesn’t have enough horsepower to where the blade bends when it’s cutting hard stone, then everything from there on goes downhill. Then when you go to match up the seams they don’t match up correctly and you wind up with big gaps, and so forth.
Cutting is a position that most owners of shops who don’t have the experience themselves, take for granted. They think they can just stick a guy on the saw and he’ll cut ex-amount of square feet for ten or fifteen bucks an hour and then find out later on that his work is shabby! A saw operator is equally as important as the guy who is running the CNC machine.
Also, because they may have compromised on the purchase of a bridge saw, say with not enough horsepower, this then slows down the shop. So, my advice for anyone starting a new shop or trying to rebuild an existing shop would be to take a hard look at the saw and make sure it has enough horsepower to where it can cut a straight line.
We also book match everything during cutting: kitchens, bathrooms and backsplashes; everything we do is book matched. To me that is very, very important. It shows that, first of all, you do know what you are doing, and secondly, the end result is spectacular. Most often a lot of fabricators will take one slab and try to cut a fifty square foot kitchen, and yeah, you can get it out of one slab—but you’re going to compromise somewhere. Book match, book match, book match.
Tools: Our bridge saws are 30 horsepower and we cut 5-6 kitchens per day on each saw, so a Talon or Viper blade is my choice. They cut through stone like butter.
Andreas von Huene: Sculptor Woolwich, Maine
Technique: As we strive to do our work to higher and higher levels of perfection and efficiency, we sometimes lose perspective. I’m happy with myself when I remember to stand back twenty paces and make sure I get the whole picture. Even better are the helpful people all around us who have their own insights.
My projects start off by removing large amounts of stone by splitting with wedges and sawing with a 14˝ saw. Then shaping with smaller saws. Ah—the magical 4-½˝ flush mount dry blade. And, oh, I love it: the extra coarse cup wheels.
Who wants to make dust when you can make gravel? Once the forms are roughed in, the fun starts! Refining and balancing areas—usually hard to get to areas—often sees me hauling almost every tool to the job. I’ll have five angle grinders, each with a different wheel or saw and the same again for all the ¼˝ die grinders and air chisels. Perhaps the greatest tool is the standardization and interchangeability of all the 5/8˝-11 tooling and likewise the ¼˝ shank die grinder, watching out for safe wheel speeds, of course.
We are so fortunate in having a wide range of relevant industries from which we can borrow materials, tools, and techniques. It is one thing to make something, it is yet another to make the tool by which you make something. Then comes all the delicious tools in the Braxton-Bragg catalog.
Tools: My quick quip answer to what is my favorite tool is, “The one that is working.” That being said, the stand-alone but overlapping capabilities of several tooling systems help me go from a multi-ton block of granite to a finished sculpture efficiently. The 8˝ and 9˝ angle grinders, their saw blades, and 7˝ cup wheels move a lot of material.
A 4˝ or 5˝ Metabo angle grinder with a flush-mount 4-½˝ blade or cup wheel makes the great leap from the roughed-out sculpture to the threshold of detail work. Being able to hold it comfortably, single-handed for certain jobs is very helpful.
Its universality that so many saws, wheels, and discs from extra-coarse cup wheels to fiber-backed silicon carbide discs means that the shapes in my hands have continuity as I progress. The quick version lets me change tools rapidly as I try different wheels to get certain shapes right.
Other tools I’ve really enjoyed in the past:
• 14˝ Stihl gas saw running wet
• 9˝ 220v Metabo with 8˝ blade or 7˝ cup wheel ideally running wet
• 4˝ Metabo angle grinder with flush mount blade
• ¼˝ Craftsman right angle pneumatic die grinder with muffler and a 2˝ turbo blade
Jerry S: Templater / Installer,
Central New Jersey
Technique: I am fortunate to work for a company where I am the template man and the installer, so, from day-to-day I already know every installation before I arrive. My words of wisdom are as follows: It is crucial to make accurate templates. This is really the place where a successful installation begins, and no matter if you’re doing wood templates or using laser technology, double check everything and be accurate.
Also, knowing how to level out badly installed cabinets is a plus and probably the biggest challenge I face every day. We’ve learned the hard way that at the time of templating it’s important to check cabinets for level and square before any templating is done. If severely out, alert the customer and then come back and template after the cabinet man has made all the adjustments needed.
If templates are done first, and the cabinet man then shows up later and changes levels or alignments, it’s possible that your overhangs will not work, and remaking the countertop may be your only choice. Also, beware of cabinet end panels that may be missing at the time of templating.
If you are an installer, you need to be ready to handle any situation quickly and safely, so being set up to do your job is the most important thing and key to getting it done efficiently. You also need to understand that when you arrive at any job site the clock is ticking, and knowing procedures and how to deal with situations that impede your progress such as a nervous customer, construction debris or unprotected flooring prone to damage is imperative.
As far as doing the installation, first confirm that all cabinets are close to being level, square, and usable before you set any countertops. Also confirm that measurements of any countertops that go between three walls are correct, so you can easily trim the countertops to fit while still outside.
Tools: As far as tools, I have a few. A quality pair of carry clamps for unloading and delivery, and suction cups for adjusting or removing a complicated or delicate countertop are a must-have in your tool inventory. A variable speed right angle grinding tool is also essential. I keep at least two on-hand so in case one breaks I have a back up. I prefer Flex, but there are many other good brands.
Thomas Rosiennik: Owner / Fabricator Thomas Ros Services
Sarasota, Florida
Technique: The most important thing for me as fabricator is precision with tolerances being no more or less than 1/8˝ in variance. Another thing is that you must know how to read and analyze templates, because sometimes mistakes can happen, and if they are caught right away it can keep a job from going bad.
Always read everything that is written on a template, and if anything is questionable, don’t assume it’s correct. Ask the person who made it. That’s why for me it’s very important to have good communication with the templater and also the saw operator.
Next, and very important in my work, is the proper selection of tools for different materials. For example: I use different tools to fabricate marble than granite, and I organize my work area so that it is safe, practical and efficient. Every tool that’s needed, I make sure that I have it at arm’s length so that I don’t lose time or my concentration and maybe make a mistake. Everything should be ready before fabrication begins.
Sometimes complications can happen when working with fragile materials, and anything can happen, such as little cracks in one moment and then many broken pieces of stone the next.
It is crucial that a fabricator knows what kind of glue to use and how to mix the correct colors of pigment to obtain the correct hue to make a break look like it never happened. I use buff paste on marble because the base is beige and for me, it’s the best for getting a pastel color.
I also use many colors of pigments like green, yellow, black, blue, and white to get exactly the color of glue to match the stone. It is important to know a few things when mixing glue with pigments, such as using daylight instead of overhead florescent lighting.
While mixing and checking for color match, I’m putting a little glue on the broken stone as I go and before adding hardener. If it is too dark, I will add white pigment. If it is too light, I will add black. Knowing how to repair is an art in itself, and in this situation when you must glue severely broken stone, you need to have a lot of patience, so just take your time.
Many times it is like trying to put together a puzzle, but here you can’t make any mistakes, and you need to match all pieces very carefully. You will not have a second chance to fix it. Is very important to fix every crack or break so that no one can see it.
I also suggest that new fabricators practice using tools on scrap before performing any work, such as hand grinding edges or hand cutting. Quite often there are several different elements within a material, and their hardness can vary considerably, making it difficult to grind an accurate edge. This requires a very steady and practiced hand.
Good atmosphere and communication at work is also very important because everyone from template man to installer are part of one team, and each person has an effect on the work of the next person and the final effect of the product.
Tools: I like a Makita 5˝ single speed angle grinder for dry cutting and prefer a variable speed Metabo for shaping edges and fine grinding. When doing intricate work such as relief carving in limestone, I prefer using an air die grinder with many different types, sizes, and shapes of bits, for complicated areas such as lines and corners. I am also using a variety of chisels during this stage and will finish the project by hand sanding or polishing where needed.
Peter J. Marcucci has over 25 years of fabrication experience in the stone industry. Send your comments to our Contacts page.